Brutal Stabbing in Texas: Who killed Sarah Anne Walker?

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," July 11, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: A bizarre murder mystery in Texas, a real estate agent found in a model home, fatally stabbed 27 times. Who targeted Sarah Anne Walker, and why? Police are searching for clues and for a motive.

Joining us with more on the investigation is Captain Randy Roland of the McKinney, Texas, Police Department. Welcome, sir.

VAN SUSTEREN: What's new, sir, in the discovery of this body and the effort to solve this murder?

ROLAND: Well, today, our detectives processed a number of the pieces of evidence that we gathered at the crime scene today. Today was more of a day of taking inventory of what we had. We did a number of interviews with friends, family, co-workers to try to understand who our victim was, and hopefully, kind of piece together some things that would lead us in the direction of a motive. We still haven't really focused in on exactly why this tragic crime occurred.

VAN SUSTEREN: When was this real estate agent last seen?

ROLAND: About 12:30 on Saturday afternoon. She was visiting on the phone. And we found, or we were called to the scene about 1:23 in the afternoon to find her body.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did she say anything unusual in that phone call at 12:30?

ROLAND: No, not at that — it was a normal phone call with a friend.

VAN SUSTEREN: So it was just — can you give me more details on the phone call maybe?

ROLAND: Well, nothing other than, you know, she took time out during the workday to call a friend and discuss whatever they talked about. But obviously, we're getting a lot of cooperation from her family and her friends to piece together the minutes and the hours before her demise. Additionally, announced today was a reward up to $30,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of this suspect.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did she say in that phone call that she expected to meet anyone?

ROLAND: There was no indication of that. And certainly, that's part of our ongoing investigation about that conversation.

VAN SUSTEREN: And she said so in the — I mean, not just that you — you looked at the cell phone records, but she actually said that in the phone call?

ROLAND: Those are — that's the indication that we got from the conversation.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was the murder weapon found on the scene?

ROLAND: We have not located a murder weapon. We are narrowing down what type of weapon it would be. But as to say exactly what it was, we're not there yet.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was this model home an empty home, or was there, you know, like, knives in the kitchen, that kind of thing?

ROLAND: No, this was a — this was an office set-up for our victim to meet people and to show other models in the area. It was outfitted as a house, but it also had an office space, a desk and computer for her to work at.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. She has an ex-husband. Any problems with her ex-husband? I assume you've spoken to him.

ROLAND: No problems. The family, the ex-husband, everybody is cooperating with this investigation, and we are proceeding.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was her car on the scene?

ROLAND: Her car was.

VAN SUSTEREN: Anything stolen? Did she have any missing jewelry or a purse open, anything like that?

ROLAND: We are still inventorying the property that was inside the house and what type of jewelry that she wore and what we found. And we're just taking inventory of that and haven't released anything that indicates that anything is missing.

VAN SUSTEREN: Thank you, sir.

ROLAND: Certainly.

VAN SUSTEREN: Sarah Anne Walker was recently divorced from her husband, Randy Tate, and unlike many of the stories we tell you about, this divorce was different.

Joining us is the lawyer who represented Sarah Anne Walker in the divorce, Jeff Doman. Jeff, we've heard an awful lot about hostile divorces, but this one apparently was a little bit different, wasn't it.

DOMAN: Well, she actually finalized her divorce at the end of February of this year. And like you said earlier, her divorce was very different than a lot of the divorces I deal with on a daily basis. Sarah and her husband, Randy, were very amicable, and it always seems like that throughout the divorce, they always put their son, Josh, first. And that's why when I heard the news, it really had me questioning what went on.

VAN SUSTEREN: When was the last time you spoke to her?

DOMAN: I actually spoke to her right before we finalized the divorce in February. And as far as everything — as far as I was concerned, when I talked to her, things were going well, and the issues with Josh and Randy were moving along just fine, as we had agreed upon. And although the judge hadn't signed off on the order finalizing the case, the parties seemed to be working together very well at making sure that Josh was taken care of and that they were working the transition into being divorced from each other very well.

VAN SUSTEREN: Now, we know she was a real estate agent. What was Randy's occupation, her ex-husband?

DOMAN: I believe he was involved in the real estate industry, as well.

VAN SUSTEREN: And during the — and how long did you actually represent her?

DOMAN: Well, I believe our representation started in July of 2005. And we — like I said, we finalized the divorce in February of 2006, so it went on for about seven or eight months.

VAN SUSTEREN: Ever hear any complaints from her about anyone, not just her ex-husband — I mean actually, frankly, you usually expect that in the course of a divorce. But did she complain or have any other troubles?

DOMAN: Well, Greta, as I'm sure you're aware, I am prohibited by going into too many details because of the attorney/client privilege. However, as we worked on the divorce, so many of the issues were agreed upon between her and Randy that there weren't issues regarding spousal abuse or any kind of violence or anything that we had to go into because the parties were always able to reach agreements. And it never got to the part or the situation where it became contested in any manner.

VAN SUSTEREN: How about someone — I'm not — I wasn't speaking about her ex-husband, but did she ever, like, when you were talking, say, Look, I got this person at work, or I met this person in a grocery store, anything like a stalker type thing, anything like that?

DOMAN: You know, there never came up to where there were any situations like that.

VAN SUSTEREN: So this is completely stunning, surprising to you.

DOMAN: Absolutely. When I found out on Monday, it really took the breath out of me. And Sarah was such a sweet, energetic, fun, bubbly person to be around. And it really took me — took me back when I heard the news. It was a very, very sad day for me, and I — my heart and my feelings go out to her family and her loved ones, and especially her son, who's about to turn 4. I can only imagine what he's having to deal with, knowing that he's going to be without his mother.

VAN SUSTEREN: Jeff, thank you.

Police say Sarah Anne struggled to fight off her killer before losing to the killer. Well Sarah Anne's defensive wounds lead to that killer? Joining us here in New York is forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden.

DR. MICHAEL BADEN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Hi.

VAN SUSTEREN: Doctor, where do you start?

BADEN: Well, I think the police have started the right way on their end — motive, means, opportunity. The medical examiner probably has already finished the autopsy, and they can find if there are any defensive wounds, whether she struggled, whether there's any skin tissue or blood under her fingernails, or hairs or fibers in the struggle. Also, whether these 42 stab wounds — whether many were inflicted after she was dead. They can tell that from the autopsy.

VAN SUSTEREN: What difference would that make?

BADEN: That indicates somebody who knew her. A stranger murder doesn't keep stabbing a dead body. If you know the person, if you love the person, that's when you get these overkill rage reaction scenarios, and I think that's one things they'll look into.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, you know, one of the things that I would be curious about is whether she had an appointment. There's a small window, 12:30 to 1:23...

BADEN: Oh, yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: ... to be killed, less than an hour. It's a fully stocked house, a model house.

BADEN: But what's interesting is how the crime scene expands because her laptop would be part of the crime scene now, whether she — at home, what appointments did she have would be very important. Was she sexually assaulted? The medical examiner should know that by now. She was clothed, supposedly, from what we hear. And what's the motive? The motive doesn't make sense. Was she a target, or was this an opportunistic situation where a passerby happened to find her there, which seems unlikely.

VAN SUSTEREN: I think, if my recollection serves me right, is that she was wearing jewelry, so that's sort of less likely to be...

BADEN: Less likely a robbery.

VAN SUSTEREN: Unless the robber just went for the cash in the purse.

BADEN: Yes. Also, about the knife, the weapon, the medical examiner should have a good idea right now whether it's a hunting knife, whether it's a stiletto, whether it's an ordinary table utensil. That also should be able to be determined from the autopsy.

VAN SUSTEREN: You can tell by looking at the wounds?

BADEN: The shape of the wound, especially the shape wound in the heart tissues, like wounds through liver or wounds through muscle retain their shape sufficiently to be able to tell if it's single-edged, double- edged, to be able to tell the length and the width of the knife. And that can be helpful.

VAN SUSTEREN: What do you put your money on, the fingernail scrapings, as having — I mean, because if she put up a good fight, she's going to have something under those fingernails.

BADEN: You know where I'd put on most of my money? The police chief checking out everybody who knew her and checking out who was supposed to have appointments and who knew she would be there. Whether there were...

VAN SUSTEREN: Like someone is standing by, waiting to burglarize the place. and she shows up to show the house, and it's that kind of deal.

BADEN: That's right. Also, whether there are tire tracks or shoe prints inside the house, outside the house. The person who came may have been in a car, and in that short period of time, the tire tracks may still be there.

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